THE MORE WE DIG THE MORE WE FIND

advertisement

December 31, 1996

ISSUE DATE: December 31, 1996

UPDATED: December 31, 1996 00:00 IST

EVEN AS SEARCHES WERE ON at Jayalalitha's Poes Garden home, M. Karunanidhi spoke to Associate Editors AMARNATH K. MENON andVAASANTHI at his Gopalapuram residence where he has been staying since his days as a Tamil film scriptwriter. Excerpts:

Q. The charges have been there for long. What prompted Jaya-lalitha 's arrest now?

A. The high court rejected her plea for anticipatory bail and said further investigation was not possible without taking her into custody. It is only after this that she was arrested.

Q. But you are accused of being vindictive.

A. There is no political vendetta. We only followed the court's directions. Sasikala, who ran an ordinary video-cassette shop, managed to acquire property worth over Rs 1,000 crore in less than five years. Her ration card and voter identity card reveal beyond doubt she was with Jayalalitha in Poes Garden.

Q. Former aiadmk ministers who faced charges of corruption have been spared. Are you using them to split the aiadmk?

A. Their homes have been searched. It takes time to establish evidence for the court. Besides, the aiadmk is destroying itself. It failed miserably at the polls even when its members were together.

Q. Do you believe the aiadmk has a future?

A. I do not know.

Q. You have arrested all the prominent aiadmk leaders.

A. They were arrested to prevent a law-and-order problem.

Q. Will the arrest of Jayalalitha lead to a logical end?

A. We have all the documentary evidence.

Q. When will the special court be established?

A. When all the investigations are completed and charge-sheets filed. It will take a couple of months.

Q. How fast do you think the proceedings will be?

A. That depends upon the courts and the cooperation of the accused and witnesses.

Q. Did Jayalalitha try for a compromise through her influential contacts in Delhi?

A. I do not know.

Q. She had a 30-minute meeting with Prime Minister HD. Deve Gowda.

A. What Deve Gowda told me was that she was worried about her secu- rity. I assured him she need not worry about that.

Q. There is also a case involving the purchase of booster antennae for Rs 2 crore. An official was implicated but no action was taken. Why ?

A. This is news to me. I will inquire into the case and take action.

Q. In the last five years, a number of IAS officials have been on foreign tours. It is alleged that they carried Jayalalitha's and Sasikala's money. Has any inquiry been made?

A. You are giving me all this information. I must thank you for it.

Q. Do you feel the Central Government is going slow on the cases against Jayalalitha ?

A. I don't think so. It is the Central Government that has attached her property now. Whether it is the Centre or the state, the lady may have influence because of her money power. But we cannot just sit and watch.

Q. How much of her money power is left? Her bank accounts have been frozen.

A. Where? (laughs) We still do not know all the places where she has stashed away money. The more we dig, the more we find.

Q. In your opinion is she the most corrupt Indian politician?

A. (Laughs) Yes. I have no doubts about it. In the last five years, that was her only goal (making money). You can see it in her Poes Garden house.

Q. Some say you have been too harsh on Jayalalitha. When there were charges of corruption against you, she merely appointed a commission of inquiry.

A. They did not have any evidence against me. It was all fictitious just to malign me. Now, the case is different. We have solid proof.

Q. Do you thinkjayalalitha has a political future?

A. It is solely her responsibility to make or mar her future through her actions.

Q. You arrested her on a Saturday when she could not even appeal for bail.

A. The judgement came on Friday. Obviously, we could not arrest her on Thursday!

Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from